Founded | April 2002 |
---|---|
Ceased operation | 2 September 2023 |
Headquarters | Copthorne |
Service area | West Sussex East Surrey Kent South London |
Service type | Bus services |
Routes | 18 (9 of which were school routes) |
Hubs | Oxted, East Grinstead, Caterham & Westerham |
Fleet | 24 (June 2023) |
Chief executive | Stephen Wallis |
Website | http://www.southdown.net |
Southdown PSV Limited, [1] which traded as Southdown Buses, was a medium-sized country bus operator, with 18 routes across East Surrey, West Sussex, South London and Kent, 9 of which were school bus routes. Most of their routes were operated on behalf of Surrey County Council, other work included railway replacement services for planned engineering work.
Southdown Buses operated mainly in Oxted, Horley, Redhill, Westerham, Lingfield, Caterham, and East Grinstead. [2] Their only operating garage was in Copthorne.
On 1 February 2023, Southdown Buses was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group, with the company being brought under the control of Brighton & Hove and the Southdown Buses identity initially being retained. [3] Southdown Buses ceased operations on 2 September 2023, with services, staff and vehicles transferred to Metrobus. [4]
As of June 2023, Southdown Buses operated a fleet of 24 buses. The fleet consisted of a mixture of Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TL, Alexander Dennis Enviro200, Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodied Scania N250UD buses. [5]
In 2018, Southdown Buses took delivery of two Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses based on the Scania N250UD chassis, having trialled a demonstrator the previous year. [6] In 2021, Southdown took delivery of two Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC buses. [7] [8]
In addition to being a bus operator, Southdown Buses also used to be a new and used bus dealer. In September 2016, the business was split with Southdown Buses' managing director, Steve Swain taking over the dealership and renaming it Chartwell Bus & Coach Sales. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Metrobus Limited, trading as Metrobus, is a bus operator with routes in parts of Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and Greater London. Formed through a management buyout in 1983, Metrobus was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in September 1999.
Brighton & Hove is a bus company operating most bus services in the city of Brighton and Hove in southern England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the first of the new Enviro range of buses from TransBus and also the first bus to be built as an integral bus by TransBus.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400, Dennis Trident and Plaxton President. In 2014, the Enviro400 was succeeded by the updated Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC and production of the classic Enviro400 ceased in 2018.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ultimately unsuccessful, with few being sold before the introduction of the second generation Enviro200 revived sales for the product from 2006. It was supposed to be positioned in between a minibus and a rigid single-decker bus.
First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater Glasgow area.
First Hampshire & Dorset is a bus operator providing services in the counties of Hampshire and Dorset. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Stagecoach South East is the trading name of East Kent Road Car Company Limited, a bus operator based in Canterbury providing services in Kent and East Sussex in the south east of England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group.
The Scania N series is a line of low-floor bus chassis with straight-up, transversely mounted Euro IV or newer engine at the rear, built by Scania since 2006, replacing the Scania N94.
Stagecoach in South Wales is a bus operator providing services in South East Wales. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach.
Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in Rochford, Essex. It operates local bus services throughout Essex and West Suffolk, from headquarters at Rochford, near Southend-on-Sea, and depots at Maldon, Boreham, Braintree and Haverhill.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro350H was a hybrid-electric powered single-decker bus manufactured by Alexander Dennis between 2010 and 2013. It was the first Alexander Dennis bus model which was only sold as a hybrid-electric vehicle, the Enviro200H, 400H and 500H models having diesel-powered equivalents.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, also marketed as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014 as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMCs entered service with National Express West Midlands in 2015. Notably, Enviro200 MMCs have been modified by Fusion Processing to be used as the basis for the first driverless bus trials in the United Kingdom.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC is a low-floor, three-axle double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2012, replacing the Alexander Dennis Enviro500. The Enviro500 MMC is available powered by either Euro VI diesel or hybrid-electric and later fully-electric powertrains.
Kernow is a bus company operating services in Cornwall, England. It is part of First South West, a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2014, replacing the Alexander Dennis Enviro400. The Enviro400 MMC is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom.
C.E. Jeatt & Sons Limited, trading as White Bus Services, is a bus operator based in Berkshire and runs bus and coach hire services within Windsor and Ascot. It is part of the Rowgate Group.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2018, as an alternative to the standard Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodywork. The Enviro400 City is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom. It is available as a complete integral diesel or hybrid bus, as well as the Enviro400EV complete integral battery electric bus or Scania N280UD compressed natural gas-powered chassis.
Essex Airlink is the brand given to two airport bus services run by First Essex. The brand was relaunched at Stansted Airport, England, on 17 February 2020. There are three routes, X10, X20 and X30, which start their journey in Basildon bus station, Colchester and Southend Travel Centre, respectively. The X10 and X30 routes meet on the A130 and then follow the same route from there to Chelmsford where the route then splits with daytime X30 journeys traveling via Broomfield Road and serving Broomfield Hospital before compared to the X10, and night-time X30 journeys, taking a faster route to Stansted. Introduced in 2023. The X20 takes along A120 from Colchester to Stansted.